Good idea!! Well, not to beat it over and over, but it's my 1st Xmas in my new-to-me house, so - I have to figure out where everything will go!! I did buy a couple of new light strands, as a couple of old minis died. I got lights onto one of my pine trees - not too bad for a 1st try. I have another tree to try to do....lights and greens on my porch railing. I'll try to take pics tonight. I'll have New Year's brunch this year, but it won't be eggs benny and champagne, as in years past, but it will get a few good friends together, and will be fun.

Nancy.

Eduarda, your post is just the motivation I needed. This month is flying by and before you know it Christmas will be upon us. Time to decorate! I don't know where to begin. Perhaps you could post pictures to encourage us/me more :-)

I can't help thinking how cute my garden would look with a snowberry bush, beautyberry bush and a norfolk pine this time of year.

I'll try and attempt something tomorrow and post pictures.

Cheers!

Edna

I haven't done anything yet this year, but I'll repost my pics from last year, to encourage you all. This is my garden inspired front porch last year. Timmy invites for the new Christmas season.

Eduarda

Here is a link that might be useful: Christmas 2007

I am just getting started, but won't do much. Our grown sons are no longer interested in helping us with decorating a large tree.

I'll once again get out my crystal Nativity. Photo is from last year. I took an old photo frame (from the 50s), put the glass on the outside so that I had room underneath for my lights. I put the Nativity on top of the glass. I used a burgundy throw underneath the ribbon lights.

We bought a fresh wreath and hung it on the porch yesterday. We bought a tree-shaped potted rosemary that I'll decorate with some tiny ornaments that I have. After Christmas, I'll plant it in the garden.

I love all the reds, Eduarda. I especially enjoy seeing how your sun room reflects beautifully with the red berries in the garden. You have a perfect winter garden. I remember when you made those gorgeous pillows ... I love them (so does little Timmy).

Cameron, your crystal nativity looks like a tray of jewels. Very pretty!

Eduarda -- your red-decorated porch looks SO inviting! Timmy is such a cutie, too.

Edna -- my Nativity was collected over a number of years as gifts from friends and my son. I really love it, but didn't have a great place for it on top of wood furniture. I came up with the picture frame idea and just played around with it. Last year was the first time that I tried it.

Cameron

Yikeeeesssss! I'm so far behind this year it's scary I really need someone to light a fire under my ... Eduarda your porch is really beautiful and Timmy is the crowning touch.
Cameron what you have done with your Nativity scene is really quite lovely.

Annette

Cameron, I love your crystal Nativity Scene and I think the way you have displayed it is beautiful. Is it a mirror I see as its background? It must be even more beautiful by candlelight, if you do that. I have a small collection of Nativity Scenes but none in crystal. Yours is truly lovely.

Edna, inquiring minds want to know what you made with the garden during the weekend. Nancy, any chance of a photo? Annette, are you motivated by now? :-) Come on folks, Christmas is upon us and we need something to cheer us all up. I'm slowly beginning - just bought a red twig dogwood, a couple of callunas, a small santolina and a bunch of red pansies to redo the bed by the front door that was cut to ground due to the works in the house. Hopefully I will be able to plant tomorrow, if the painters are done with that area. I'm also working on some sewing for the sun room which I'll share with you once it's done. So much to do, so little time!

For some additional motivation, have a look at a thread I started on the gallery side about the Christmas markets in Munich, Germany.

Eduarda

Everyones looks so pretty. Don't put a lot in the house. House is small. And a cat and 2 dogs inside. But with my cleaning business I put up 2 of my customers. One lady has (((40)) + boxes full. I put up 5 trees for them last year. Told them Sons would have to set it up for me. Not dragging it up the steps. It was so loop sided. Had to put #40 bag of top soil on tree stand. But have cleaned for them 20 years. Treat me well.

Hi Eduarda,

Have not had a chance to put up any Christmas decorations yet. I did buy some new glass balls for on the tree and I bought one special hand painted glass ball at a craft fair. I won't be putting the usual decorations outside because of the bad neighbour.....they would just ruin them, so not worth the effort of putting them out this years. I do plan to decorate with more lights indoors. Now its just a matter of finding the time.

I remember your photos from last year......lovely.

Sierra

Not the greatest pics but here is my effort, thus far:

Getting big time snow today, and apparrently tomorrow. Gotta love Winter.. Christmas!!!!! Yea!!!!

Nancy.

"One lady has (((40)) + boxes full. I put up 5 trees for them last year."

Yikes! That lady is even worse than me, LOL! No wonder you don't do much in your own home, after 5 trees! Kitties are always great fun around the Christmas tree, aren't they? My Mom and sister have a new cat this year. It will be his first Christmas and he's finding it extremely interesting. Their oldest cat thinks the new kid on the block is shockingly childish, of course. Two Christmas ago my niece had to *tie* the tree to a nail on the wall, as her then new kitty, Bia, thought it was the perfect spot to bungee jump... Never a dull moment with our pets.

Sierra, if you can't decorate outside, can you decorate inside so that it's visible from the outside? I always think it's so beautiful to see windows with decorations on the inside, especially if the glass panes are covered in ice crystals, as I'm sure they will be in your case.

Nancy, I love your decorations and especially your *snow*. Crazy, I know, but you have to see, we never have a white Christmas here, so this is something magical for me. I love your bench with the Christmas arrangement on top. You inspired me to do something similar with a bench I'm placing in one of my new porches.

Keep those ideas coming, everyone! It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Eduarda

Nancy -- I love your outdoor scenes! Brrr---cold, too! :-)

I just wrote up a blog post about my Sustainable Tabletop Christmas Tree. If you guessed that I used rosemary, you're right!

Cameron

Here is a link that might be useful: Sustainable Tabletop Christmas Tree

I haven't posted here in a while but I did happen to finish decorating and took some pics so here ya go. I have been enjoying the Xmas pics so much.

Theresa

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OK, Theresa ya'll just don't have enough to do.....you need to post here wayyyy more often.

Nancy.

Theresa -- are we REALLY seeing ALL of your decorations? :-) You have done such a fabulous job with your creations.. just beautiful, every decoration is perfect and so many are nostalgic. Do you collect vintage decorations? Those choir figures look just like candles that I had when I was a kid in the 50's.

Cameron

Well, mine pales in comparison to Theresa's! This is the best I could do in snapping pics.

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Lol, Yeah, Actually I have too much to do and decorating has become a chore of sorts but the decorations are a tradition to the kids now so I have to keep doing it every year. They took me an entire weekend + some. No, these aren't all of them but the best pics I could take.

Keep these pics coming in the spirit of the season ;)

Schoolhouse, yours are beautiful...very classic looking.

Yes, they are vintage candles and I do try and create an "old fashioned" look in some areas. But I wouldn't say I have much of a collection. I got those candles on ebay a few years ago when I did have too much time on my hands, lol.

Theresa

This the perfect gardener's Christmas photo. (Is that Santa I see standing in the background?)

Schoolhouse -- I love your decor (Christmas and otherwise).

Nell -- great idea! Looks warm and inviting.

Cameron

Hey All - thank you for your kind words. Eduarda, I'd love to see your bench... oh yeah, to get the snow, and keep it, you need the -21C we are getting tonight. It keeps the cats cuddly. lol.

Then, everything will melt and get icy on Monday, when it will be rainy and +9c...unbelievable....winter in Canada!!!

If it looks cool, I'll take pics.

Nancy.

theresa24,

Your decorations are so pretty and festive. My daughter loves snowmen and she would go wild for those walk-way snowmen lights. Would you please let me know where you found them? I have run out of new snowmen ideas for her.

Thank you so much,
kat

Kat, I got them a few years ago but I saw them at Target this year.....that's probably where I originally got them.

Theresa

Theresa,

Thanks so much for the Target info. My daughter loves to shop there. I showed her the picture you posted and she fell in love with the snowmen lights. Since she will be in a Target before I will, she will look for them. I did check Targets website, but didn't find the lights. If we can't get them this year maybe we will have better luck next year.
Have a wonderful Christmas and a great New Year!
kat

{{gwi:767211}}From Dotty Pants

9" Christmas tree using old buttons, beads, Corsage pins, hearts from a charm bracelet and some vintage jewelry.

Two other views on my Dotty Pants Blog.

Here is a link that might be useful: Button Tree

Oh Nell, I adore that!!!! I will steal your idea, with your permission!!!

Nancy.

By all means, Nancy. Everybody should have one.

You need lots of pins and lots of buttons and trinkets. Little beads will turn a regular pin into a pearl headed pin that won't go through the buttons with bigger holes.

A little glue won't hurt, if you're sure you want everything permanent.

Nell

Thank you so much to you all for posting your lovely holiday pictures, you can't imagine how much I have enjoyed them. This Christmas has been extremely hectic to me, so I hardly posted pics at all, but here are a couple that I thought you might enjoy.

Yesterday in my kitchen, as I was preparing to knead the "filhós" - our traditional Christmas fried pastry.

Our hallway, depicting two Nativity Scenes from my little collection. The larger one on the left is a German work in wood, typical of the Erzgebirge region. The little one on the right is hand carved in olive wood in Palestine. I bought it at the Nativity Scenes market in Munich, Germany. The cards are from friends all over the world.

Timmy wishes everyone a very Merry Christmas sitting on the bench inspired by Nancy's. :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: My Christmas album